Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
‘Seeing something and thinking of someone?’
‘Are you trying to suffocate me!’
Meng Fan looked at this shota with pretty eyes. At this age, they must have just begun elementary school. Where did they learn this proverb from? Were all primary institutions this advanced now?
The small shota blinked bashfully, then thought of something, pulling out a piece of candy from his backpack. Thinking about it, he took out another one. His small hands brought the two candies toward Meng Fan and said seriously, “My sister said if your heart is bitter, you should eat some candy. If it’s still bitter, eat another one. Eating two candies will make you a sweet man, so you will definitely be strong.”
Hearing this, Meng Fan couldn’t help but let out a snort. He didn’t accept the candy, but he squatted down and asked the kid, “What if I’m still suffering?”
The shota was deep in thought. “Then you should go buy some more yourself.”
Meng Fan almost laughed out loud.
‘Are all kids this sassy nowadays?’
Seeing the small boy’s hands that were reaching out to him, he took a candy. Smiling, he said, “Big brother isn’t that bitter, so one is enough. Give the rest to your sissy… mmm. There’s another proverb here. One candy for your sissy.”
The young boy was happy to see Meng Fan accept the candy, but he said to Meng Fan very seriously, “I stopped talking like that when I was two years old.”
“Huh? Really?” Meng Fan felt a bit awkward. Was this a failure to recognize a disciple?
Holding the candy in his hand, he cheersed the other one in the boy’s hand. “Since one candy can make us happy and meet together, this is another proverb called ‘one candy causing a happy meeting’.”
The shota nodded, not completely sure what he meant.
“Tang tang.”
At this time, five or six pretty girls cheerfully called the small shota over.
The shota turned to Meng Fan. “My sister’s calling me. I have to go. Big brother must be strong!”
“They’re all your sisters?” Meng Fan asked.
The shota nodded proudly.
Meng Fan then asked him another question. “Do all your sisters treat you well, and are they fond of always giving you all kinds of food?”
The shota nodded.
Meng Fan’s sorrow resurfaced once again. A solemn expression appeared on his face. “Thank you for your candy. Big brother wants to give you some advice. This advice will be very useful to you in the future, so you must remember it.” He paused for a moment. “Never eat anything strangers give you, and it’s best to not eat the food your sisters give you, too!”
Lightly, he tapped his shoulder with a heavy heart. “Go on!”
The shota stepped forward and walked toward his sisters. He didn’t understand what the big brother was telling him. ‘The food my sisters give me tastes so good, why shouldn’t I eat it? They’re not strangers!’
What the big brother had said in the beginning and at the end were very different and did not make sense. Yes, the shota thought of another proverb. To be conflicted with oneself.
Maybe this big brother’s sisters did not treat him well or gave him yucky food, causing him to be so bitter.
“What did the big brother say to you?” A sister holding his hand asked.
The boy smiled and shook his head. “That’s a secret. I can’t tell you. You guys always say Tang Tang is a real man, so he must keep his secrets and honey!”
“Oh right, then Tang Tang has to keep it well.”
The boy’s sister didn’t pursue it further, smiling at Meng Fan in goodwill. Then the group left.
After the small boy left, Meng Fan carefully put the candy in his pocket. He lifted his head to find that the timer on the basketball machine had already expired.
He was really bitter now.
He took out the candy. He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth. ‘Damn, it was sweet.’
Originally, he wanted to keep it as a commemoration, but he thought about it and decided to eat it. At least now, the memory of sweetness could be preserved.
He swiped his card again.
This time, Meng Fan did not dare to familiarize himself with the ball. He couldn’t take the chances of another loli girl approaching him and asking another question.
And in the eyes of children, everything was beautiful and simple. If he had been seen by an adult, they must think he was a pervert to be touching a ball like this!
Meng Fan had played basketball before, but he had only played since he didn’t even know how to dribble. He knew how to shoot, but not the proper posture and technique.
What kind of standard did a shooting machine need?
None.
At least it had nothing to do with his shooting posture on the court.
Whatever felt comfortable should do it!
The gate opened, and the balls rolled out. Meng Fan grabbed one immediately and threw it at the basket. He was really close, but he could not score consecutively for the next chain of balls.
Did he lack shot percentage?
Obviously, he didn’t need to consider that in this scenario.
He couldn’t even gauge the character of his basketball. How could he know the shooting percentage?
It was like comparing a regular person’s hard work to someone’s talent!
Currently, it was common to play this kind of basketball machine. There were five balls and four levels. Each level was 60 seconds, 50 seconds, 40 seconds, 30 seconds, respectively. The score required to pass was 40 points, 150 points, 250 points. And in the last 20 seconds of each level, a person’s points were worth 3 points as opposed to the regular 2.
After the first level’s 60 seconds ended, it was GG for Meng Fan.
During this 60 second period, Meng Fan had shot a lot of times, but his hit rate was too low. He was precise, but it was hard to control his strength. Either his power was too much or too little. For someone like Meng Fan, who had only touched a basketball a few times, it would be a while before he could find balance.
But Meng Fan was happily chortling. Nothing else, but his [God Tier Pitcher] task was rising in experience.
He hadn’t even scored that many, so why was it rising so fast?
Hehe, who said it had to go through the hoop to count, as long as he touched the rim, it counted. Meng Fan’s set target was the rim!
Again.
He swiped his card again. This time, Meng Fan did not try to pursue quantity. The experience wouldn’t run away. It was best to become familiar with the ball so that he can gain more in the future.
This time, he had GG’ed at 60 seconds as well, but he had scored 36 points, meaning he landed 18 hoops.
The more he scored; the more confident he became.
Again. 60 seconds, he managed to gain 47 points and advance to the next level. He GG’ed out of the second level at 97 points.
Again! After five continuous attempts, Meng Fan was able to pass level 1 but always died at level 2.
During this period, as long as he could reach the second level, he could earn about 120 points each time. His hit rate was not high, but the probability of hitting the rim was alright. He was already at 500 experience points, more than halfway from completing task phase 2 at 624/1000.
Once the second level started, the basket would begin to move. This saved Meng Fan the time of switching targets.
He took a break.
Surprisingly, such speedy scoring actually consumed a large sum of physical energy. He was covered in sweat.
He headed to the bathroom and put on the tracksuit provided by the system. Otherwise, it was too uncomfortable to be sticky and sweaty. Thinking about it, he bought a random hat and put it on and hid his sweatband under it. Otherwise, it looked too excessive to be bringing a sweatband to the arcade.
Once he returned, Meng Fan conveniently purchased a can of iced cola and emptied it before leaving. So he bought another one. He didn’t open it but left it next to him; this provided him with a sense of security.
As the number of points increased, Meng Fan became more and more familiarized with the basketball. The hit rate would naturally increase, and alongside his hand speed, he could reach the third level soon.
The effect of accuracy +1 was slowly beginning to reveal itself.
When the [God Tier Pitcher] experience increased to 950, Meng Fan had successfully passed the level. He had passed the score of 250, achieving a final score of 307 points. Basically, he had earned 57 points at the fourth stage. This progress was faster than running.
Of course, if he didn’t run to accumulate these rewards, he wouldn’t have such good physical strength to score so many hoops. He would have collapsed long ago.
Running was like an underlying foundation for Meng Fan. Once the foundation was solidified, it became easier to support other sports.
He swiped the card again. When the first level reached 40 points, an alert sounded off in his head. He had completed task phase 2 of [God Tier Pitcher].
Reward: Points +100, accuracy +1.
With this reward, Meng Fan’s hit rate could improve. In 60 seconds, he had reached 134 points.
On level two, 50 seconds, Meng Fan scored more than 100 times, with more than half landing. His final score was 259, which was enough to advance to the next level.
The third level, 40 seconds, he shot 80 times, with his hit rate remaining high… The fourth and final level ended in 30 seconds. Meng Fan scored 403 points.
It was pretty incredible to pass 400 points!
Meng Fan looked at the record for this row of shooting machines. The highest scoring machine was 501 points, and the one he was playing was 458. The machine beside him was 421!
Meng Fan felt that if he practiced more, he could break all the records on this row of machines!